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"There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
"It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
"Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America by Russell Shorto. I liked this book; A nice readable and interesting history of New Amsterdam. It suffers from the same problem as all of these types of books; I think it likely overestimates the lasting impact of the Dutch Colony on American culture and structure. Still, it's good.

Just finished Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It is a bio of sorts - not just of Lincoln, but his entire cabinet: Seward, Chase, Stanton, Bates, etc. It won the Pulitzer for non-fiction in 2005. Goodwin spent 10 years researching/writing the book. I have had it in my queue for several years now but kept putting it off because of the 42-hr audio book length. Big mistake. It was fantastic - enjoyed every minute.

I have always admired Lincoln, but this book deepened my love and appreciation. Intelligent, witty, compassionate, magnanimous, wise, visionary, kind, self-deprecating, eloquent. I.e., polar opposite of Trump in just about every way imaginable. Easily my favorite president/American.

"There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
"It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
"Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

Just finished Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It is a bio of sorts - not just of Lincoln, but his entire cabinet: Seward, Chase, Stanton, Bates, etc. It won the Pulitzer for non-fiction in 2005. Goodwin spent 10 years researching/writing the book. I have had it in my queue for several years now but kept putting it off because of the 42-hr audio book length. Big mistake. It was fantastic - enjoyed every minute.

I have always admired Lincoln, but this book deepened my love and appreciation. Intelligent, witty, compassionate, magnanimous, wise, visionary, kind, self-deprecating, eloquent. I.e., polar opposite of Trump in just about every way imaginable. Easily my favorite president/American.

Based on your previous recommendation of Grant... I listened to it, and also watched the movie Lincoln with Daniel Day Lewis. Then I watched Ken Burns Civil War on Netflix. Between the three I really felt that I came to know Lincoln and appreciate his steady hand at the wheel during the most trying time in our nations history. Now you tell me there's another book...

Just finished Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. It is a bio of sorts - not just of Lincoln, but his entire cabinet: Seward, Chase, Stanton, Bates, etc. It won the Pulitzer for non-fiction in 2005. Goodwin spent 10 years researching/writing the book. I have had it in my queue for several years now but kept putting it off because of the 42-hr audio book length. Big mistake. It was fantastic - enjoyed every minute.

I have always admired Lincoln, but this book deepened my love and appreciation. Intelligent, witty, compassionate, magnanimous, wise, visionary, kind, self-deprecating, eloquent. I.e., polar opposite of Trump in just about every way imaginable. Easily my favorite president/American.

Agreed, a great book, and one that I've thought of frequently over the past couple of years. Visiting the Lincoln Memorial after I read that book was an especially emotional experience for me. And the differences between him and Trump couldn't be more stark. BTW, "Most people don’t even know [Lincoln]he was a Republican. Right? Does anyone know? A lot of people don’t know that. We have to build that up a little more.” Heaven help us.

Based on your previous recommendation of Grant... I listened to it, and also watched the movie Lincoln with Daniel Day Lewis. Then I watched Ken Burns Civil War on Netflix. Between the three I really felt that I came to know Lincoln and appreciate his steady hand at the wheel during the most trying time in our nations history. Now you tell me there's another book...

sigh

I have watched the Ken Burns Civil War series twice, read a Grant bio, and read Shelby Foote's 3-volume series on the Civil War, etc. But I still enjoyed the book very much and learned a ton of new information. I came to appreciate Seward and Stanton - both great men. One of the focus areas of the book is how Lincoln intentionally picked men for his cabinet that were direct political rivals (most of them were leading candidates in the republican primary). He didn't want "yes men", he wanted people with intelligence and ability. He then managed the group during arguably the most challenging 4 years in our country's history, skillfully leveraging their unique gifts and talents and masterfully dealing with jealousies and intrigue.

If you decide to take the plunge, I promise you won't be disappointed. Great book.

"There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
"It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
"Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

While not an in depth look at the campaign, at just over 300 pages it can't be. Mr Groom he does provide some interesting insights into both state of the Confederate Army IE the death rate of CSA General Officers was 18% compared to Union General Officers at 8%. He says the CSA was running out of qualified leaders by that point in the war, And John Bell Hood in particular was promoted a couple of levels above his compentacy. Also we want not healthy. He had lost the use of an arm at Gettysburg and had a leg taken of just below the hip at Chickamauga and was obviously in constant pain. He had to be strapped to his saddle. He hated the use of breastworks and did everything he could to avoid using them. He felt is sapped troops of "Fighting Spirit". Sounds like something out of WW I.

A fact I didn't know is that Hood and the Army of Tennessee had SIX chances to cut the Union Forces of Gen Scholfield off at Spring Hill and were not able to cash in any of them. This allowed Scholfield to get to Franklin and prepare defensive positions that devastated Hood's army when he was attacked a couple of day later.

Very readable and you can gain a understanding of the campaign - solid 4 stars.

Reading it reaffirmed my belief in God, because according to the author, the Americans did nothing right in the occupations of Germany, Japan and Korea after the war. After reading this, the fact that the three countries turned out as well as they did is nothing short of a miracle

Problems included everything from a general dislike of occupying by the American people, both Civilian and Military, who wanted the soldiers home yesterday, the Anti-fraternization orders, rampant souvenir hunting - which the author states was nothing but another name for looting, the treatment of Displaced Persons and Jewish survivors of the concentration camps were according to the author, all problematic at best.

only a 3 star read for me.

Last edited by happyone; 07-10-2018 at 03:13 PM.

I may be small, but I'm slow.

A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

Less: I could have done with a lot less. This was not that good. Just a book about a gay guy that runs from his problems, has a boring trip around the world. Lame. THere was a good line in the book about how you should never win the Pulitzer because it ruins things for the future. He was right, this should never have won the Pulitzer.

The Idiot: also not very good. Started out good and just got worse throughout, then nothing happened and then it ended.

In the Distance: This book was great. I highly recommend this one. Story of a immigrant wandering around the west in the 1900s. Has a run in with what I imagine are supposed to be mormons. I saw a great review of this on Goodreads- "It's like Cormac McCarthy, except good." Lol, exactly.

I also read just before this.

Ill be Gone in the Dark: This is story of the Golden State Killer. Not very well written, imo, but interesting and so scary that he got away with it forever. Yes, the author died while writing this, but it still could have been edited. Side note, a member of my ward growing up is briefly mentioned as an investigator.

Dunbar: this is a modern telling of King Lear. This was ok. This is part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series. http://hogarthshakespeare.com/ Next up is Jo Nesbo's Macbeth. Nesbo is awesome, so I can't wait.

Ill be Gone in the Dark: This is story of the Golden State Killer. Not very well written, imo, but interesting and so scary that he got away with it forever. Yes, the author died while writing this, but it still could have been edited. Side note, a member of my ward growing up is briefly mentioned as an investigator.

I agree this was disappointing — could have been much more interesting and better written.

The book that will be worth reading is when they put it all together over the next year now that they have the rapist/killer.

Any recommendations for a bio of Joshua Chamberlain? I've been fascinated by the guy, a college prof with essentially no military background whose incredibly brave defense at Little Round Top very likely saved the Union Army at Gettysburg and, arguably, the Union, and then went on to oversee the most gracious acceptance of the surrender at Appomattox. We're going to be spending the last week of the month in Maine and I intend to visit the nearby Museum regarding his life, and I want to study up. I'm thinking of reading In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American Civil War but would welcome any alternate suggestions, esp. from those who read a lot of military history (we have several here).

Any recommendations for a bio of Joshua Chamberlain? I've been fascinated by the guy, a college prof with essentially no military background whose incredibly brave defense at Little Round Top very likely saved the Union Army at Gettysburg and, arguably, the Union, and then went on to oversee the most gracious acceptance of the surrender at Appomattox. We're going to be spending the last week of the month in Maine and I intend to visit the nearby Museum regarding his life, and I want to study up. I'm thinking of reading In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American Civil War but would welcome any alternate suggestions, esp. from those who read a lot of military history (we have several here).

I haven't read any, but if you can read 19th Century prose, at this moment his autobiography is free with Kindle unlimited

It's been a fascinating look at one of real monsters of the 20th Century. A couple of take aways - the children who grew up in the Kremlin, here all of Stalin's inner circle lived, looked a him as a kindly uncle, spoiling them rotten with sweets, a funny story etc. His was intimately involved with the "Terror" of late '30s - personally approving death lists. As the terror got going, various provinces or states where given quotas on how many to kill - names not included, just numbers.

I was surprised at just how many of the inner circle had attended seminary with the thought of becoming priests or at a minimum came from vary religious backgrounds

The suicide of his second wife hit him hard. What the nature of the their relationship at that time and whether or not he drove her to it, is according to Montefiore is open to debate.

Last edited by happyone; 06-06-2018 at 04:16 PM.

I may be small, but I'm slow.

A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

The Theranos saga is crazy, and this book is a really well done telling of it; it's by the same guy who originally broke the story at the WSJ.

Was just wondering what my next book will be... now that I just finished Titan: John D. Rockefeller. Titan is a Chernow book and I was looking for a fun read... the first half where he builds Standard Oil was good, but the second half bogged down with lots of minutia on the Trust Busting litigation.

Man, I love Virgil so much. He has become my favorite crime novel character/protagonist. I wish they'd do a Virgil Flowers series on Amazon (not Netflix, they have too many shows and wouldn't give it the attention it needs).

Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

"The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

I tried looking up Virgil Flowers. Took a few tries, but John Sanford is the author. I'm sure it says that somewhere a few pages back.

I didn't get very far with the "Prey" series by John Sandford, but I'll give the Virgil Flowers series a try.

I really like the Prey series, but it is definitely something different than the Flowers series. A lot more graphic, sexual, violent, etc. Plus, Lucas Davenport (who is involved, but very peripherally, in the Flowers novels) is an entirely different kind of guy than Virgil. I also like that Virgil's cases are almost always in small Minnesota towns and not in the Cities like Davenport's. The series has a sort of "Justified" vibe to it, although Virgil is not like Raylan. I'm talking more about the characters and the small town feel. I'm always laughing out loud when reading these books, even though they are crime novels.

Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

"The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

Just finished Planted by Patrick Mason. Patrick is an LDS scholar who got his PhD at ND and is currently in one of those mormon chairs at Claremont. It is basically a book about LDS faith and testimony in the internet age. Really outstanding book. I think I highlighted half of it. Going forward, this might be my go-to book to give to friends who are struggling with faith. Highly recommended.

"There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
"It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
"Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

Just finished Planted by Patrick Mason. Patrick is an LDS scholar who got his PhD at ND and is currently in one of those mormon chairs at Claremont. It is basically a book about LDS faith and testimony in the internet age. Really outstanding book. I think I highlighted half of it. Going forward, this might be my go-to book to give to friends who are struggling with faith. Highly recommended.

Didn't realize North Dakota granted PhDs in that field.

"I think it was King Benjamin who said 'you sorry ass shitbags who have no skills that the market values also have an obligation to have the attitude that if one day you do in fact win the PowerBall Lottery that you will then impart of your substance to those without.'"
- Goatnapper'96

Yep I read it too. Really interesting stuff, a modern-day The Emporer Has No Clothes.

Clearly Elizabeth Holmes is a smart person but totally lacking in morality/values — it’s a cautionary tale about why ethics are important. It’s interesting to see her lying and deceit juxtaposed against the dozens of young people like Tyler Schultz who honorably voiced objections and quit rather than be part of the scam.

I'm in the middle of four books at the moment (I don't like doing more than two at a time but my ADHD is going into hyperdrive), but I want to add another. Has Tara Westover's Educated been mentioned here? A NYT bestseller, it's the autobiographical story of a young woman (early 30s now) who was raised in SE Idaho by a survivalist, fundamentalist (or simply looney) LDS dad. She doesn't even have a birth certificate, and hadn't seen the inside of a classroom until she was 17. And yet she graduated magna from BYU, went on to study at Harvard, and now has her doctorate from Cambridge. Here's the NYT review; it's definitely up next on my reading list. I suspect others have commented on it here (or at least have read it), but I couldn't find any references to it...

Yep I read it too. Really interesting stuff, a modern-day The Emporer Has No Clothes.

Clearly Elizabeth Holmes is a smart person but totally lacking in morality/values ó itís a cautionary tale about why ethics are important. Itís interesting to see her lying and deceit juxtaposed against the dozens of young people like Tyler Schultz who honorably voiced objections and quit rather than be part of the scam.

I'm about halfway through it, but that Holmes fired the UU grad for looking at porn at work.

Finished (so I guess this doesn't belong in this thread) a couple of books over the weekend. Hero of the Empire (Candice Millard) is the story of Churchill during the Second Boer War, including his imprisonment and escape, which became huge news in the UK and helped launch his political career upon his return. It was enjoyable, but I didn't like it as much as Millard's Destiny of the Republic (the all-too-brief political life of James Garfield, including his assassination and the botched treatment by physicians ignorant of things like sepsis), which was outstanding.

I just read the Churchill book. One of my daughters has been pestering (demanding?) me to read either one of these for a while now. I just wasn't that interested. So my expectations weren't sky high and I started it out of a sense of duty but I really liked it. Candice Millard is a very good writer, and I thought the book was genuinely insightful about Churchill while avoiding both hagiography and being overly critical.